Back rest



June 1941- w. Y. ABR'ESCH 2,245,121

BACK REST Original Filed July 24, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v PW/l/a'm 15/ rasc/w,

latented June 10, 1941 William Y. Abresch, Gastonia, N. 0.

Original application July 24, 1939, Serial No. 286,292. Divided and this application January 6, 1940, Serial No. 312,732

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an attachment for invalid bedsteads, in the nature of a back rest, the present application being a division of my co-pending application Ser. No. 286,292, filed July 24, 1939.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a back rest of novel construction for supporting a patient in a sittingposition while occupying the invalid bedstead, said back rest being constructed to afford maximum comfort to the user and being provided with novel means for securing a pillow in position against the front of the back rest without danger of the pillow settling down and becoming uncomfortably bunched at the bottom of the back rest.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, showing a back rest constructed in accordance with the present invention and applied to an invalid bedstead.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof, partly broken away.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation, part- 1y broken away, showing the back rest suspended by straps from the top of the head member of a bedstead; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2 to show details of the back rest.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the invalid bedstead has been shown as including the usual head member composed of an inverted U- shaped frame 5 whose intermediate portion forms an upper horizontal bar 5a, and whose side portions are connected by a panel composed of upper and lower horizontal rods 6 and I connected at intervals by uniformly spaced vertical rods 8.

The present invention provides for a very efficient back rest whereby the invalid or occupant of the bedstead may be comfortably supported in a sitting position. As shown, the back rest consists of a vertically elongated open rectangular frame 45, the side members of which are connected at intervals by means of transverse or horizontal helical tension springs 46. These springs give yieldable support to the back, and the lower portions of the side members of the frame 45 are curved forwardly as shown at 4! and the springs 46 are positioned to follow this curvature so as to give restful and comfortable support to the small of the back. Also, the springs 46 are arranged closer together at this curved portion 41 so that less yielding will be allowed as is necessary for best results.

The back rest is adapted to be disposed with its lower end resting upon the mattress and with its upper end supported in a suitable manner to position the back rest at the desired inclination. As shown, the back rest frame may be provided at the top with suitable hooks 48 that may be engaged over the rod 6 of the head member of the bedstead, so as to support the back rest in a desirable position. However, for reclining, the back rest may be supported at a more nearly horizontal position and at various inclinations by means of adjustable suspension straps 49 as shown in Figure 3. These suspension straps may be passed about the top rail of the frame 45 of the back rest and looped around the upper portion 5a of the frame of the head member of the bedstead. By adjusting the straps 49, the inclination of the back rest may be changed. To provide for this adjustment, the ends of the straps 49 may be adjustably connected by suitable buckles 50 engageable with [the desired one of a series of openings or apertures 5i irf the other ends of the straps. The strands of the straps 49 may be placed in contiguous relation after encircling the top rail of the back rest frame, by means of suitable slides 52. V

In order to give more comfortable and soft support to the user, means is provided for sustaining a pillow 53 in front of the back rest and against the springs 46 of the latter, so that the pillow will be retained in position extending from top to bottom of the back rest and without any danger of falling and bunching at the bottom of the back rest. For this purpose, slotted brackets 54 are attached to and project from opposite,

sides of the back rest frame at the top of the latter, and a retaining rod 55 has its ends re movably positioned in the slots of these brackets. In use, the open end of the case of pillow 53 is wound about the bar 55 as indicated at 56 and more clearly shown in Figure 4, whereupon the bar 55 is engaged with the brackets 54 so that the wound end of the pillow case is effectively clamped between the bar 55 and the frameof the back rest. The end of the pillow case cannot become detached from the bar 55 when the latter is engaged in the brackets 54, and in this way the pillow is effectively suspended in place.

Should the back rest not be required, such as when the patient desires to assume a position flatly lying on the bed, said back rest may be readily detached and removed either by removing the straps H9 or disengaging the hooks 48 from the rod 6. The bar 55 may be disengaged from the brackets 54 of the back rest so as to permit detachment of the pillow 53 from the back rest for ordinary use upon the bed.

While I have shown and described a very practical and preferred form of the present invention, it will be understood that structural details may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is:

In a bedstead attachment, a back rest including a vertically elongated rectangular frame having forwardly projecting slotted brackets at tached to the side members thereof at the top of the same, and a rod having its ends removably and non-rotatably engaged in said brackets, said rod being retained in close proximity to the top member of the back rest frame, and a pillow having an end of its case wrapped around said rod and clamped between the back of the latter and the front of the top member of the back rest frame to retain the pillow in a suspended position at the front of the back rest.

WILLIAM Y. ABRESCH. 

